Texting Bans a Possibly Low-Cost and Effective Means to Help Improve Motor Vehicle Safety

摘要

In this issue of AJPH, an article by Ferdinand et al. (p. 748) looks at the question of whether statewide texting-while-driving bans are effective at reducing crash-related emergency department (ED) visits. Their results suggest that the answer is a cautious yes. Given the ever-growing body of evidence that texting while driving increases crash risk,1 it is important to assess whether interventions such as texting bans are having the effect we hope they are having. So, should states all rush to pass texting-while-driving bans? The answer to this is less clear.